5 more troopers attached to central team found positive: BSF

A day after a BSF driver who escorted a central team tested positive for COVID-19, five other troopers attached to the South Bengal frontier were found infected with the disease, the paramilitary force said.

Out of these five positive cases, three were engaged in escort duties of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), officials said.

"Five more personnel were found to be positive. Their reports came late in the evening. They have been admitted to M R Bangur hospital," a senior BSF official of South Bengal Frontier said.

The contact-tracing exercise has started and some have been sent on quarantine, the official said.

According to senior officials of BSF South Bengal Frontier, the troops have been on high alert and efforts are on to ensure that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and other guidelines are strictly followed by the troopers of the border-guarding force.

"After the driver of one of the escort cars was found positive, we sent him at an isolation facility and more than 51 personnel with whom he came in contact have been sent on quarantine.

"We have also tested more than 25 people so far, including other drivers of the escort team. None of them found to be positive. But still, all of them have been kept on quarantine as a precautionary measure. The process of testing is on ," a senior BSF officer said.

The senior officer said the BSF was on high alert since the beginning of the pandemic. And after the first case in the South Bengal frontier was reported on Monday night, senior officers have been asked to ensure that the troops follow the SOP and other precautionary measures.

The officer said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been informed about the BSF constable's infection.

A Central team to look into the COVID situation in Kolkata and adjoining areas was staying at the BSF guest house in South Kolkata and all its logistics such as vehicles, escort personnel, security personnel were provided by the paramilitary force.